Little Boy Lost
by superstarpiper
Summary: A joyous occasion becomes a mournful one.


Summary: A joyous occasion becomes a mournful one.  
  
Little Boy Lost  
  
"Leo!" Piper yelled out to her husband as she made her way to grab her car keys. "LEO!!!!!" She held her stomach and leaned over in pain. Leo ran into the room, stopping dead when he saw his wife and the mess she was in. Her water had just broken.  
  
"Ok, Piper, just calm down. Just breathe." He said soothingly. He was by her side in three giant steps. "Give me the keys, Piper." Leo reached for the keys, but Piper held them away from him.  
  
"Leo, don't be ridiculous, you can't drive." Before she had the chance to say anything else, another sharp pang of pain rushed through her, and she cried out.  
  
"Yeah, well neither can you." Leo took her in his arms. "Come on, honey, Prue's home. She'll drive us to the hospital." Leo held her and walked slowly with her to the front door.  
  
"Prue?!" He yelled up the stairs as they passed by. "Prue, it's time. Piper's water broke. Let's go!"  
  
Prue came bounding down the stairs, taking two at a time. She snatched the keys out of Piper's hand and bolted out the door. She wasn't two feet outside when she turned right around and ran back to Piper's side. She knew that she'd be a big help if she grabbed a hold of Piper's other side and helped Leo get her down the front steps and into the car.  
  
Prue made sure Leo and Piper were secure in the backseat, hopped in the front and drove off like a mad woman.  
  
"Shh, Piper. Calm down. Remember the breathing? Just breathe." Leo coaxed his wife. This was a type of pain he wasn't allowed to heal. He just let her lie across his lap and ran his fingers through her hair. She looked up at him lovingly, but that look didn't last for long.  
  
"Ahhhh!!!" She cried, closing her eyes and squeezing Leo's hand in pain. Leo used everything he had to keep from yelping at the pain. He never knew his wife was this strong.  
  
"Prue." He said between gasps, "Faster."  
  
"I'm goin, I'm goin. Just don't let her panic. Keep holding on to her hands." Leo rolled his eyes. "I don't want the car to blow up." Prue finished. She kept her eyes set on the road, but reached her hand back to grab Piper's free hand. Piper gladly grabbed onto Prue's hand just as another contraction hit. She squeezed even harder, and this time it wasn't only Piper crying out in pain.  
  
"Ok! Ok! Piper, Prue needs her hand back to drive now!" yelped Prue from the front. She wriggled her hand away from Piper's.  
  
Within minutes they were in the maternity wing at San Francisco Memorial. Piper was checked in and whisked away to a room, with Leo by her side. Prue called Phoebe and waited in the front hall for her to show up.  
  
Ten minutes later, Phoebe and Prue were running down the white corridors to Piper's room. They stopped in their tracks when they saw Leo sitting outside the room, head in his hands.  
  
"Leo?" Prue stepped towards him and touched his arm.  
  
"Huh?" He was startled by Prue's touch. He looked up and her and Phoebe with sad eyes.  
  
"Prue.Phoebe.something's wrong." He was a mess. "They don't know what, but something's wrong with the baby." Prue and Phoebe's hearts sank.  
  
"Oh, Leo, I'm sure it's nothing." Phoebe said reassuringly, picking up his hand and holding it in hers.  
  
"Yeah, Leo, childbirth is full of complications." Prue bent down to look him in the eye. "When Piper was born, the doctors thought there was a problem. But they were just being cautious. Nothing was wrong. Leo, everything will be fine." Prue patted his head and pulled him in for a hug.  
  
"I hope so." Leo said quietly. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost Piper or Melinda." He breathed deeply. "I'd be empty."  
  
Just as he said that, a mass of doctors and nurses burst out of Piper's room, followed by Piper lying on a moving bed, with countless machines and tubes attached to her.  
  
"Leo." she said groggily when she saw him. She reached out her hand and he immediately seized it. "Shhh, Piper." He said quietly. "Don't speak. Everything will be fine." He ran along side her until they reached an operating room.  
  
"I'm sorry, sir, but you can't come in here." A doctor regretfully informed Leo.  
  
As their hands drifted apart, Piper whispered, "Promise?" She was taken away before Leo had the chance to answer. It was a good thing, though, because he couldn't promise.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Two agonizing hours passed. Two hours of waiting, pain, hope and despair. Prue and Phoebe just sat by Leo's side, silent. None of them uttered a word the entire time. The silence was broken when the doctor emerged from the operating room.  
  
Leo stood to face the doctor, his eyes glimmering with hope.  
  
"Please, have a seat, Mr. Wyatt."  
  
Leo's hope was dashed. He did as the doctor told him. The doctor pulled up a chair and sat across from Leo.  
  
The doctor took a deep breath. "Mr. Wyatt, I'm sorry." He looked down at his hands. He hated to see the initial look of pain on the faces of the parents.  
  
"I.I don't understand.doctor?" Leo said, confused. However hard he tried to listen to what the doctor told him, the words were just like a whirlwind of information in his head.  
  
"The baby.umbilical cord.around the neck.nothing we could do." Was all Leo comprehended amongst the other words the doctor was saying. Leo stared at the doctor intently.  
  
"What are you trying to tell me, doctor?" It still hadn't sunk in.  
  
"I'm sorry, Mr. Wyatt, but your son didn't make it. He died." The doctor looked down at his hands again.  
  
"A son?" Leo whispered in disbelief. "A baby boy." He trailed off. His bottom lip was quivering. Phoebe gently picked up his hand in hers. She rubbed it slowly, but didn't say a word. She was still in shock over what the doctor had just said. Prue stared at the wall. Piper and Leo didn't deserve this. After all they'd been through. She shook her head.  
  
The doctor slowly got up to leave. He turned to go back into the room, but was stopped by Leo's voice.  
  
"How is my wife, doctor?" Leo prayed that Piper was alive. He wouldn't be able to live if he had lost his son and wife in the same day.  
  
The doctor turned to face Leo. "She'll be fine, Mr. Wyatt. She's recovering. You may come in and see her now. Only one at a time, though." Leo looked at Prue and Phoebe. He saw the tears streaming down their faces and had to turn away. It was too much. He needed to go to Piper. Help her through this. And he needed her to help him through this. He stood and followed the doctor into the room. His walk felt mechanical.  
  
As the doctors and nurses cleared away, Piper turned her head and saw Leo walking slowly towards her. She smiled at him. "Hi, Daddy." She reached out her hand for his, and once again, he seized it. "Where's Melinda?" She didn't know. That was all that went through his mind. She didn't know. How would he tell her? He had to, but how?  
  
He stood next to her and stroked her hair. It was damp from the labour. He drew in a deep breath, "Piper, you gave birth to a little boy." She looked at him, shocked.  
  
"But, in the future there was only Melin." She didn't finish her sentence. She knew. She knew what had happened. Tears began to roll down her cheeks. "What.what happened, Leo?"  
  
The pained look in her eyes triggered the tears he had been holding back for so long. "Piper, honey, it's not your fault." He rubbed her hand gently, "He didn't make it." he said, blinking back tears.  
  
Piper closed her eyes, hoping that it was all a horrible dream. She would wake up and Leo would be standing there holding their healthy baby. She opened her eyes and was met with the cold reality.  
  
The tears continued to roll down her cheeks. Leo wiped them aside.  
  
"Piper, I promise you. We'll get through this." He crouched down so he was at eye level with her. "I will help you, Piper, if you help me. We need each other, but we'll get through this." His voice was so soft now that only Piper could hear him.  
  
"Promise, Leo?" She whispered, tightening her grip on his hands.  
  
Gently kissing her forehead, he whispered, "Promise." 


End file.
